Back to School Recipes {breakfast/snacks/dinner}

A great round-up of healthy, family-friendly recipes for breakfasts, snacks and dinners to make meals easier now that school is back in session.

My boys headed back to school yesterday and my mind immediately switched from lazy breakfasts, fun poolside snacks and late dinners TO quick breakfasts, healthy after-school snacks and easy family-friendly dinners. If I don’t have a plan for the next day (or even better, the whole week), we end up eating boxed cereal for breakfast (which is totally fine sometimes!), driving through somewhere for an after-school snack (ice cream and french fries, anyone?!) and cheese quesadillas every night for dinner (boring!).

So, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite recipes to make the weekdays a little easier yet still delicious. This year, I’m hoping to come up with a meal plan each Sunday so I’m ready for the week. A few meals that take no time to pull together and some that take a little more time, but provide for leftovers that can be eaten over a few nights or even packed in the boys’ lunchboxes.

We’ve broken these awesome recipes down into breakfasts, snacks and dinners. Remember you can always prep meals on the weekend or even the night before. Think about your week ahead and plan accordingly. If we have a super busy week ahead, I’ll make a double batch of pancakes on Sunday so we have leftovers to reheat in the toaster throughout the week. I’ll also plan on a few slow cooker or casserole dinners that make a lot so we have leftovers for the next night. I like to wash all our fruit for the week on Sunday as well as clean and cut up any veggies to make cooking meals easier. I usually buy pre-washed containers of greens and baby carrots so we have no excuses when it comes to adding veggies to our meals. I hope some of these tips and recipes are helpful and make your back to school meal prep a little easier…

BREAKFAST RECIPES

Breakfast Cookies – one of my most popular recipes and rightfully so! Nutritious and delicious!

Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes – I’ll make a double batch over the weekend and store them in a resealable baggie in the refrigerator so we can just pop them in the toaster for breakfast throughout the week. A family fave!

French Toast Roll Ups – a special breakfast treat that’s easy to make and easy to eat. Kids and adults love them!

Chunky Homemade Granola – I’ll bake a batch of this granola over the weekend for us to eat with milk or put on a yogurt parfait with berries and honey. It’s great to snack on too!

Super Smoothie for Kids – Charged with antioxidants and fiber, this smoothie is perfect for back to school breakfasts and after-school snacks.

Slow Cooker Pork Ramen – this simplified version of Japanese pork Ramen broth is so easy to put together. When ready to serve, top with baby spinach and a poached or hard-boiled egg. No worries if you do not have ramen noodles around, you can substitute with linguine or yellow Chinese egg noodles.

King Ranch Chicken Casserole – perfect for a Sunday family meal and tastes great as leftovers during the week. You can also freeze half the portion to enjoy later.

Chicken Stir-Fry – healthier than fried rice yet still has brown rice stirred right into it. Just leave out or tone down the spice if your kiddos don’t like spicy food. A flavorful way to get those veggies in them!

Oven-Baked Salmon Sticks – These are no ordinary frozen fish sticks! Use fresh salmon for an extra dose of Omega 3’s while keeping it kid-friendly.

Happy Back to School! Wishing you and your kiddos a great year!

xoxo,

Maegan

A special thanks to my friend, Angela, for helping me compile this list of great recipes to share.